Product Description

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In his Epistle, the Apostle Peter instructed us to give others good reason for the hope we have in Christ, but to do so with "gentleness and respect." Unfortunately, in the eyes of many non-Christians today, the church has done just the opposite. In Unchristian, David Kinnaman, president of the Barna Group, has complied startling research among the unchurched and learned that Christians are too often known for the issues they stand against, rather than the hope which they stand for. According to the research, believers are seen as too judgmental, too political, and often hypocritical. If you are a Pastor, lay person or youth leader you will not want to go without the details of this critical study. Uncover for yourself the latest research on the unchurched in Kinnaman's must-read book.

Product Information

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Format: DRM Protected ePubVendor: Baker BooksPublication Date: 2007

ISBN: 9781441200013ISBN-13: 9781441200013

Publisher's Description

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Based on groundbreaking Barna Group research, unChristian uncovers the negative perceptions young people have of Christianity and explores what can be done to reverse them.

Author Bio

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David Kinnaman is president of The Barna Group, which provides research and resources that facilitate spiritual transformation in people's lives. Since joining Barna in 1995, David has designed and analyzed nearly five hundred studies for a variety of churches, nonprofits, and corporations. He and George Barna write a free research report published online at www.barna.org. David and his wife Jill have three children and live in Ventura, California.

Gabe Lyons founded Fermi Project, a broad collective of innovators, social entrepreneurs, and church and society leaders working together to make positive contributions to culture (www.fermiproject.com). Prior to Fermi Project, Gabe cofounded Catalyst, a national gathering of young leaders, while serving as vice president for John Maxwell's INJOY organization. Gabe, his wife Rebekah, and their three children reside in Atlanta, Georgia.

To meet the contributors and learn more about this book and the conversations it is creating, visit www.unchristian.com.

This work was commissioned by Fermi Project.

Publisher Description

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Christians are supposed to represent Christ to the world. But recent groundbreaking research from the Barna Group reveals that 16-29 year olds are perceiving Christians not as representatives of Christ but as hypocritical, insensitive, judgemental and unChristian.

Find out why these negative perceptions exist, learn how to reverse them, and discover practical examples of how Christians can positively contribute to culture.

Includes insights from respected Christian leaders, including:

Chuck Colson

Louie Giglio

Brian McLaren

Andy Stanley

Rick Warren

Jim Wallis

and others.

Publisher's Weekly

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Kinnaman, president of the Barna Institute, was inspired to write this book when Lyons (of the Fermi Project) commissioned him to do extensive research on what young Americans think about Christianity. Lyons had a "gut-level sense that something was desperately wrong," and three years of research paints exactly that picture. Mosaics and Busters (the generations that include late teens to early 30-somethings) believe Christians are judgmental, anti-homosexual, hypocritical, too political, and sheltered. Rather than simply try to do a PR face-lift, Kinnaman looks at ways in which the church's activities actually may have been unchristian, and encourages a return to a more biblical Christianity, a faith that not only focuses on holiness but also loves, accepts and works to understand the world around it. It would be possible to get lost in the numbers here, but the authors use numerous illustrations from their research and life experiences, and include insights at the end of every chapter from Christian leaders like Charles Colson, John Stott, Brian McLaren and Jim Wallis. This is a wonderful, thoughtful book that conveys difficult truths in a spirit of humility. Every Christian should read this, and it will likely influence the church for years to come. (Oct.)Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.

This is a tremendous work for anyone who wants to know what "outsiders" think. It caused me to look much closer at my life and how my faith is lived out publicly; how I can more distinctly reflect Christ to the unchurched and best represent the essence of the Gospel message. I used 'UnChristian" in small group discussion and we have had several engaging, thought-provoking conversations around the themes in this book. Highly recommended!

The "unChristian" book was published after three years of research by the Barna group on non-Christian (and Christian) perspectives on modern day American Christianity. Barna is a pretty unique group, in that they do market research on all things related to Christianity, so that the American Church can better function.

Far too many Christians are playing the martyr card and highlighting examples of what happens in a world of extreme tolerance and pluralism. Many Christians are fearful of their rights being taken away or their voice no longer being heard. While I understand those concerns, Barna's research should help open up the eyes of the average believe - that more and more young people are genuinely disillusioned by all things related to Christianity. The six main perceptions about Christians uncovered in their research - Christianity is hypocritical, judgmental, too political, isn't genuine, anti-homosexual and sheltered. They explain their research methodology, break down each of these negative perceptions and also include some other closing thoughts. Each chapter has feedback from well-known pastors/theologians with their own insights into each of these perceptions.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and was fairly convicted throughout. The point of the text is not that Christians should be popular, but that when non-believers look in at us, they increasingly see nothing that looks like Jesus. This desperately needs to change and being aware of these perceptions is certainly a good starting place. Rather than take a "Well I believe in the Bible, therefore I am always right" approach, it's good to be aware of flaws and good to be aware of what simply does not work. Grace and humility are traits that many churches need to reclaim.

I used this book in a recent sermon series, dedicating six weeks to the six negative perceptions. It was challenging to talk about some of these ideas and it certainly was challenging to own up to our faults, but I think it was worth it in the end.